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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Rival fans unite to claim ownership of Egyptian stadia

In a rare demonstration of unity, several groups of militant
soccer fans have thrown down a gauntlet for the Egyptian interior ministry and
its security forces by effectively demanding ownership of sports stadia.

In a joint statement, the fans declared that there was no
room in the stadium for both the security forces and them. ”It is no longer
viable for us both, it is either us or you,” the fans said, addressing the
ministry directly.

The fans justified their claim by declaring that “football
is for fans only, and not for pleasure of the interior ministry. We announce that
the stands no longer belong to you, you will not be welcome again. The stands
are for the audience, football fans, all the fans, this is our right.”

It was signed by arch rivals Ultras Ahlawy and the Ultras
White Knights (UWK), supporters of storied Cairo clubs of Al Ahli SC and Al
Zamalek SC who played a key role in the 2011 overthrow of president Hosni
Mubarak and resistance to his military successors as well as fans of Ismaily SC
of the Suez Canal City of Ismailia, Ghazi Al-Mahalla of El-Mahalla El-Kubra, a
hotbed of labour activism, and Al Ittihad SC of Egypt’s second largest city,
Alexandria.

In a bid to fend off a renewed vicious circle of violence, interior
ministry spokesperson Hany Abdel-Latif said in response to the statement that
private security companies would replace security forces in stadia starting
with the next soccer season. “Security forces will be only concerned with
safety outside the stadiums. But they will have the right to intervene at any
time if violations occur," Mr. Abdel-Latif said.

Suspended for much of the last three years, professional
soccer matches restarted late last year behind closed doors to prevent the
pitch from becoming a protest rallying point. The ultras staking of their claim
in many ways reflects Egypt’s return to square one seven months after the
military’s toppling of Mohammed Morsi, its first democratically elected
president: the pitch emerging much like under Mubarak as a focal point of
protest.

Relations between the fans and the ultras who adhere to the
ACAP (All Cops Are Bastards) principle and the security forces have never been
friendly. The security forces were under Mr. Mubarak Egypt’s most despised
institution. Fans clashed regularly with security forces in the stadia and
fought vicious street battles against them in the year after the president’s
fall in which scores were killed and thousands of others wounded. Mr. Morsi’s
failure to reform the security forces was one reason why public opinion turned
against him.

Clashes with security forces have meanwhile increased in
recent months. Police earlier this month used tear gas against the UWK when it
attempted to force its way into a closed door African championship match. 27 Al
Ahli supporters and 25 policemen were injured days earlier in a clash with
security forces during another African game.

Fans see the continued ban on public attendance of matches
as an indication that the military-backed authorities are afraid of allowing
large gatherings, particularly of young men in a stadium. Rare talks between
the interior ministry and some ultras failed recently with fans accusing the
ministry of lack of goodwill. The talks followed meetings with youth activists
hosted by interim president Adly Mansour and interior minister Mohammed Ibrahim
that focused on widespread dissatisfaction among the youth.

The staking of the fans’ claim comes amid mounting
disillusion among Egyptian youth who were the backbone of the 2011 popular
revolt with the military-backed regime’s crackdown on protest and jailing of
its opponents. “Worryingly, some youth have begun to adopt violent measures in
reaction to police repression, including the use of live ammunition,” said
Egyptian journalist Mostafa Hashem in article entitled ‘The Dangers of
Alienating Egypt’s Youth’ in Sada
published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Youth were visibly abstained during voting last January for
a new constitution. Hundreds of youth have been arrested since Egypt adopted a
harsh anti-protest law in November, including some of the country’s most
prominent youth activists. Thousands, including many youth, have been killed or
arrested since last July’s coup against Mr. Morsi.

Fans’ claim of ownership of stadia under Mubarak propelled
them into becoming the foremost group willing and able to confront the regime
physically over a sustained period of time. It was those clashes in the stadia
that turned them into a highly politicized, well-organized and
street-battle-hardened force capable of forming the backbone of the resistance
to attacks by security forces on Tahrir Square during the 18-day mass protest
that forced Mr. Mubarak to resign after 30 years in office.

Soccer tensions are likely to be further fuelled by a court
decision in February to hear the appeals of 45 soccer fans and officials as
well as security officers convicted for being responsibility for the death of
74 Al Ahli fans in a politically-laden brawl in February 2012 in Suez Canal
city of Port Said. Among the convicted were 21 supporters of Port Said’s Al
Masri SC who were sentenced to death. The verdict sparked a popular uprising in
cities along the Suez Canal.

“We do not expect anything from the judiciary. Retribution
for the blood of our martyrs will be extracted only by our own hands,” Ultras
Ahlawy said in response to the court’s decision to hear the appeals.

James M. Dorsey is a Senior Fellow at the S.
Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological
University. He is also co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute
for Fan Culture, and the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East
Soccer blog and a forthcoming book with the same
title.

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About Me

James M DorseyWelcome to The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer by James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Soccer in the Middle East and North Africa is played as much on as off the pitch. Stadiums are a symbol of the battle for political freedom; economic opportunity; ethnic, religious and national identity; and gender rights. Alongside the mosque, the stadium was until the Arab revolt erupted in late 2010 the only alternative public space for venting pent-up anger and frustration. It was the training ground in countries like Egypt and Tunisia where militant fans prepared for a day in which their organization and street battle experience would serve them in the showdown with autocratic rulers. Soccer has its own unique thrill – a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between militants and security forces and a struggle for a trophy grander than the FIFA World Cup: the future of a region. This blog explores the role of soccer at a time of transition from autocratic rule to a more open society. It also features James’s daily political comment on the region’s developments. Contact: incoherentblog@gmail.comView my complete profile